Justin Balko

The Vanderbilt Innovation Catalyst Fund, launched in 2023, bridges the gap between academic research and real-world applications by supporting projects with commercial and societal potential. To date, the fund has completed six award cycles, distributing 39 grants to VU and VUMC awardees across diverse disciplines. Read More

Twelve current investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University are on this year’s list of scientists whose papers have been cited the most frequently by other researchers. Read More

Researchers from from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have identified the mechanism for the deadly heart inflammation myocarditis. Read More

From the front lines of patient care to collaborating with scientists across the globe searching for treatments and vaccines, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University researchers have been working for months to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

Researchers are chronicling rare but serious toxicities that may occur with immune checkpoint inhibitors, the most widely prescribed class of immunotherapies. Read More

Immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system, is one of the most promising forms of cancer therapy and has been shown to work well against some types of cancer. Read More

Several investigators in Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center’s (VICC) Breast Cancer Program have received grant awards to support translational research that may improve disease outcomes for patients. Read More

Two Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators have earned grant awards from The V Foundation for Cancer Research, continuing the foundation’s support for innovative cancer research initiatives at VICC. Read More

Justin Balko, Pharm.D., Ph.D., seated, Javid Moslehi, M.D., left, and Douglas Johnson, M.D., MSCI, review data on rare cardiac side effects linked to cancer immunotherapy combination therapy. (photo by Susan Urmy) Combination therapy using two approved immunotherapy drugs for cancer treatment may cause rare and sometimes fatal cardiac side… Read More

The ability to test patients’ cancers for individual differences, mainly at the genetic level, and to make treatment decisions based on those differences is the hallmark of precision medicine, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is among the leaders of this new approach to diagnosis and treatment. Read More

A targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), the most aggressive form of breast cancer, has shown potential promise in a recently published study. TNBC is the only type of breast cancer for which there are no currently approved targeted therapies. Read More

Melanoma-specific expression of a certain protein identifies tumors that are more responsive to an immune therapy. Read More

Justin Balko, Pharm.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology, has been named a member of the 2016 class of Pink Tie Guys by the Greater Nashville Affiliate of Susan G. Komen, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breast cancer research and patient support. Read More

A group of Vanderbilt-led investigators has identified a new gene mutation that may explain why some breast cancer patients do not respond to anti-hormone therapy. Read More

The grants, which total $830,000, are part of the non-profit organization’s commitment to young scientists, as well as established investigators who are searching for more effective breast cancer therapies. Read More

Two Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators have received multi-year breast cancer research grants from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation. Read More

Most triple-negative breast cancer patients who were treated with chemotherapy to shrink the tumor prior to surgery still had multiple genetic mutations in their tumor cells, according to a study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators. Read More

A study led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators has identified a gene expression pattern that may explain why chemotherapy prior to surgery isn’t effective against some tumors and suggests new therapy options for patients with specific subtypes of breast cancer. Read More